November 29, 2009

Sunday, November 29th, 2009
Today there was a flying fish on our deck. We did not eat it because it
was small and it had been on the deck for the whole night. Yesterday my
dad made cookies with bread flour. Try it, they are better than normal
cookies. My grandfather has made brownies for desert tonight. I can
hardly wait.

November 30th, 2009

Monday, November 30th, 2009
Today Adam explained how to play five card draw to me, and instead of
betting money we bet points in our Backgammon tournement. So for each
poker game I won I got a point in the Backgammon tournement. When we
started playing poker the Backgammon score was 40 Adam 35 me. Now that
he has taught me five card draw it is 45 Adam and 43 me. We saw another
flying fish on the deck this morning. Our bread level is way down. We
only have three slices of store bought, two slices of bread from a kit
that was not that good, and most of one loaf of bread that my Dad made
that is really good. There isn't a grocery store for 1387 miles in
either direction. We passed the midway point this evening at 19:40
Greenwich Mean Time which was exciting.

November 27, 2009

This morning I made scrambled eggs. Sounds pretty easy right? That's
what you think. It's so hard when you're rocking all around, especially
when you're trying to mix a dozen eggs in a bowl that your Mom would
make pancake batter in. Anyway they turned out perfect and we had bacon
with them. We used the spinnaker pole for the first time. It worked
pretty well, it kept the sail from collapsing most of the time.
Dan

November 28, 2009

Forget about scrambled eggs. Trying to keep french toast batter in a 2" high bowl/plate while we're heeling over so far that water occasionally comes in
the galley window, it's about twice as hard as scrambled eggs.

Mast repairs

Today my dad, grandfather, and Adam took turns going to the top of the
mast and trying to fix it. (editors comment: there was no problem with the
mast, we had to replace the fitting for the spinnaker halyard at the top
of the mast) You can't go up there too long because you get all oozy and
throw up, then there would be a nuclear throw up bomb at the bottom of the
deck. Adam is going to the top again because part of his job is to do
basically the same thing that we're doing.

That's where Dan left off yesterday. We did finally get the new masthead
fitting installed after four trips to the top. We set the Parasailor and
started really moving again. Then we had hamburgers for Thanksgiving
dinner (because they were at the top of the freezer).. We were all too
exhausted to stay awake, so we postponed the blog update until today. I
(Nick Sr) had the 9 PM to Midnight watch, normally a choice watch because
you just go to bed a little later. Last night I had a really hard time
staying awake. I started out on the windward side of the cockpit, but
every time I nodded off I'd go rocketing across to the leeward (downhill)
side of the cockpit. After that had happened a couple of time I decided
it was only a matter of time before I hit my head, broke a tooth or
whatever, so I moved to the leeward side. That wasn't so great either.
The wind was right in my face and I was freezing. No danger of falling
asleep, but not very comfortable. Then I found the perfect solution, I
moved back to the windward side, got my iPod, and listened to Janis Joplin
turned up loud enough to induce hearing loss. That worked until midnight
when I was relieved by Tom.

For some perverse reason, the autopilot decided to turn itself off just as
I reached the bottom of the companionway. It was as if it was protesting
having to serve a new master for 3 more hours. The boat immediately
started to round up into the wind and the sails made a terrible racket.
We got that sorted out and I went to bed and slept like the dead until 9
AM.

This morning Adam, Nick Jr. and I all woke up with assorted bruises and
abrasions, but no major damage and a small price to pay for the ability to
sail faster and in the direction we want to go. Adam and Dan made
scrambled eggs for breakfast and they're now playing backgammon. Adam
plays the rule that if you throw doubles on the first role, the game is
doubled. Adam and Dan just threw doubles twice in a row, so this game is
worth four. Dan is pretty good, so the outcome is in doubt (in fact he
just won).

We're flying along right on course and life is good.

Wassail Wanderings Wednesday November 25th

Wednesday November, 25th 2009
We had an exciting early morning today. At about 6 am GMT the wind had
strengthend to between 20 - 25 knots, and there was a loud bang when our
Parasailor (large downwind sail) refilled with wind. We did not see
anything wrong at first, but then noticed one of the Parasailor control
lines was loose. My grandfather went forward to take care of it and
noticed that the block leading the Parasailor halyard at the top of the
mast had broken away from the mast. We got the sail down before the
halyard broke. Then we started to put up the main sail and noticed
there was a rip in it. We took down the sail enough so that the ripped
part was not up and my grandfather was able to sew a patch on it.
Everything is better now and we are having a nice sail.

This afternoon I did some homework and then while I was listening to a
book on tape my dad called me up on deck. There were dozens of dolphins
swimming around us. One of them obviously liked jumping. He would jump
ten feet out of the water and then dive down and do it again. He kept
doing this until he was out of sight. They were amazing to watch.

Tuesday November 24th day three

Last night I got over my sea sickness with one final throwup in the
middle of the night. I climbed back into my lee cloth and went back to
sleep. This morning I woke up feeling much better. After everybody was
up we put up the Parasailor which is a large sail for sailing down wind.
It has been going very well for the last few hours. We are averaging 7.5
knots which is fairly fast for this boat. The weather is beatiful and
the waves are not too big. We sailed 170 nautical miles between 1 pm
yesterday and 1 pm today.

The yacht that lost its rudder yesterday was abondoned because they were
sinking. All of the crew were safely rescued, and returned to Las
Palmas.

First day

Dan is feeling a little seasick, so I (Nick Sr) am standing in for him.
We had a great start yesterday. We were across the line shortly after
the gun with Parasailor flying. Our departure from the marina was lots
of fun with bands playing, tons of spectators waving and somebody firing
off a cannon as the spirit moved him. Late in the afternoon we got into
a little trouble in the wind acceleration zone toward the south end of
Gran Canaria. The parasailor was too much sail. Good learning
experience for me and the crew and we got it down without too much
drama. Last night the wind died in a couple of places so we had to
motor for a while. Big seas with no wind to steady the sails isn't much
fun.

Today has been a beautiful day, sun is out, wind about 20-25 knots, big
seas but the autopilot is coping well. Adam Smith volunteered to be one
of the radio net controllers, so everybody in our group will know the
name Wassail when we reach the other side.

We crossed paths with another boat about 2 hours ago. It was another
Najad (Wassail is built by Najad), what are the chances of that?

Nick Jr has prepared some great meals so the crew is fat and happy.

The ARC had its first casualty this morning: one of the larger boats
lost its rudder so had to be towed back to Las Palmas.

Today's run (1PM Sunday to 1PM Monday) was 146 miles. Not great but not
bad, we'll do better tomorrow.

ARC preparation

Sunday November 15, 2009

Today we arrived at about 4 pm local time after a very long time traveling. We were tired but happy to be here. Adam took a picture of us from the mast.

Tuesday November 17, 2009

Today at the kids club I went to the science museum and went in a spy fighter jet. I learned two more knots, the double figure eight and I forget the other one but it’s a knot for if a rope brakes you can tie it back together.

Wednesday November 18, 2009

My grandfather bought a Parasailor which is a really big jib (actually a spinnaker) with a wing about two thirds of the way up the sail. The wing makes the sail much more stable and easier to handle at sea with a small group of people.

Did you know that a computer can cheat at a computer game, while I was playing backgammon against the computer I got double sixes and the computer did not let me have it.

Thursday November 19^th, 2009

Today there was a safety demonstration. The first thing that they did was show a helicopter rescue. I

thought that it was pretty cool, especially when the helicopter flew about ten feet above us. There was a flare demonstration next. The first flare was pretty lame, just a bright orange light. The second flare was a dud, but the third flare looked like orange toxic gas. The final flare they did not launch because it was a rocket flare which might land on a boat in the harbor and they did not have permission from the coast guard to fire it off.

One of my new friends from Australia had a birthday party today which I went to. We had snacks and Jesse got a new backgammon set which I showed him how to use. There was birthday bread pudding which was really good.

Friday November 20^th, 2009.

Today I went out in an Optimist pram. We were pulled out of the harbor by Pneumatic Dinghies which are inflatable power boats. They let us sail for an hour or so and we had a great time. There was a really nice looking yacht that we sailed by. It was about 52 feet long and instead of a ladder or steps on the stern there was a garage where they could keep a dinghy or a jet ski. It had two head sails, a jib and a staysail. The mast was tall and had three spreaders and the boat looked very clean and organized (at least on the outside). My grandfather made an announcement a few days ago that the boat had to stay clean and it looks like he was talking to himself. It has gotten worse than it was before.

Saturday November 21^st, 2009.

Today we loaded all of the fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as all of the drinks and packaged food. We put a lot of the stuff in the forward shower, but some of the other things went in the bilge and other places. We are going to go to dinner early tonight so that we can get to bed at a reasonable time. Our start is at 1 pm tomorrow and we still have a few things to take care of before we take off.

Catch-up

I love fireworks.  Tonight (Fri Nov 13^th), as I left the restaurant where I had the same dinner (smoked salmon, prawn & avocado salad) I had last night, I heard a boom.  It was from a fireworks display a couple of miles away.  I stood still on the sidewalk and watched the sky light up for the next 10-15 minutes.  I just smiled and thought how much I like fireworks – not so much the pretty displays, it's the loud blowee that I really like

 

I arrived in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria last night.  Phyllis and I sailed Wassail here this summer, starting in La Coruňa, Spain on August 12^th and arriving here on September 8^th.  Along the way we were joined by our old friend Ted Livingston in Baiona, Spain.  The three of us sailed to Leixoes, Portugal where we took a day off to visit the Port wineries in Porto.  Thence to Cascais from which we took the train into Lisbon to meet Hendrik and Tone Fasmer and Frank Connard.  Ted, Hendrik, Frank and I were classmates at the Tuck School at Dartmouth.  We had a grand time at the end of which Ted headed back to Boston and Phyllis, Hendrik, Frank and I set sail for Madeira, which lies about 500 nautical miles southwest of Cascais.

 

We headed out at 6:40 AM with a forecast of 15 knot winds building to 20+ in the afternoon.  By mid morning the wind was already 30 knots and the seas were 10'.  Phyllis, who doesn't get seasick, had retired to the aft cabin, which she calls the "isle of denial, and I was wondering how much worse things might get if the winds continued to build.  About 11 AM I decided to head back east and follow the coast of Portugal down to Cabo San Vicente and then head offshore.  Shortly after we changed course, I was at the wheel when I thought I saw something off to the starboard side.  A moment later I thought I saw something again.  I looked off in that direction and saw a submarine bearing down on us at full tilt.  I watched for a few seconds and decided that, regardless of the rights of sail over power, this wasn't a point I wanted to press.  We changed course and they sped on.

 

A few days later we arrived in Porto Santo, a small island about 40 miles NE of Madeira.  Porto Santo has one attraction; beautiful beaches.  Madeira, which is a much larger island, has not natural beaches so Madeirans come by the 100's every day to enjoy the sand and surf.  We spent a day on a fairly unspectacular tour of the island and then headed to Madeira the next morning.  We wanted to stay at the marina in Funchal, the main port on Madeira, but it was full of boats from an ocean race that had finished several days before and couldn't leave due to lack of wind.  Our back-up was Quinta do Lorde, which was a little bit off the beaten path, but proved a delightful place.  We spent three days touring the island, sampling the Madeira wine, and in general having a good time.

 

Then we headed off on our last leg from Madeira to Gran Canaria.  There was one possible stopover along the way at the Ilhas Selvagens (Salvage Islands).  The name says it all and we sailed on past, arriving in Las Palmas at 6:30 AM on September 8^th.  Hendrik headed home the next day and Frank a day later.  Phyllis and I spent a week organizing, doing maintenance, and removing clothing, books and pillows that wouldn't be necessary for the ocean crossing.  We came home on September 15th and Wassail has been happily bobbing at the marina ever since.

 

Pillows!  Phyllis has a great sense of style.  She has never used a decorator and, while she sometimes asks my opinion, it only counts when it coincides with hers.  But on Wassail, her brain got stuck in a loop.  It kept coming back to pillows.  Pillows with stripes, pillows with signal flags, pillows with piping around the edge.  Even some pillows for sleeping.  Last summer (2008) I brought home two large bags full of pillows.  This summer, two more.  As I write this I'm gazing at the remnants: 9 cushions for the cockpit, 3 decorative pillows for the forward cabin, 2 sleeping pillows for the forward cabin, 4 sleeping pillows for the aft cabin and of course, 3 decorative pillows to prop in front of the 4 sleeping pillows.  We need fewer pillows or a bigger boat.